In recent years, many entertainment robots, stuffed toys and the like that would autonomously act in response to external inputs, a situation of the circumference and the like have been commercialized. Besides, a plenty of characters have came on the market that are not having any entity like those in the three-dimensional space, and are retained as software in a personal computer, a game machine and a portable terminal device such as a portable telephone, and would autonomously act on the display of these personal computer and a portable terminal device.
Hereinafter, such a character that is retained, as software, in hardware having a storage medium such as a personal computer, a portable terminal device, an entertainment robot, a stuffed toy and the like, and that is programmed so as to act or behave on the basis of the software is designated as a virtual living thing.
By the way, in such a virtual living thing, its action and its growth are processed in a manner that is based on software. Accordingly, for instance, in the case where the values of the controlling parameters related to the action and the growth change with time, such a problem exists that it is difficult for the user to recognize how is the current condition of the action and/or the growth of the virtual living thing. Besides, in the case where a robot, a stuffed toy or the like has a problem, it is sometimes hard to recognize what is the problem.
So, if a user is able to easily recognize the internal situation and the problem in the virtual living thing and/or a robot, he can handle the virtual living thing and/or the robot easily.